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Know The Fundamental Skills Of Creative Thinking
Patrick C.

It is not enough to have a good mind; the main thing is to use it.”
- Descartes

Technically speaking, the best way to boost your creativity is to boost the communication flow between your two brain hemispheres: your left and right brains.

Apparently during the creative process, our left and right brains are focused on the problem, exchanging information to and fro in a form of a “partnership.”

Highly creative people are known to have an easy and unobstructed flow of information between their left and right brains. They know how to increase the stimulation to their brain and expose it to lots of experiential stimulation, stretching and expanding its creative prowess by bringing it to new uncharted waters.

After all, they understand that every learning experience is a mental one. And the more mentally stimulating and experiential an activity is, the more they learn.

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Seizing The Opportunity
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One of the most fundamental skills of creativity is the ability to see an opportunity and seize it.

Every day, we are faced with countless opportunities to develop our creative thinking skills. Such opportunities present themselves while we are at home with the kids, going to work, at the workplace, at board meetings, out to lunch, or hanging out in the pubs with our friends.

The problem we face is not so much a lack of activities or events to stimulate our creative senses. There is in fact no shortage of encounters for us to develop our creativity. The real challenge is for us to recognize these moments as opportunities for seizing and for creative outburst.

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Challenging Assumptions
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Many inventions were the result of people who were willing to challenge assumptions that existed during their time.

People tend to see only what they think to see. Every time we look at something that is in our world, we make our own assumptions about the reality before us. We based our lives and decisions on those assumptions we make. If we accept those assumptions as real and concrete, we will live by them. However, the moment someone chooses to challenge those same assumptions as “unreal”, he or she may be on the road to discovering something new and different.

Challenging assumptions is an important component of creativity because it forces us to look beyond what is already accepted or is obvious. It can lead to the kind of perceptual breakthroughs we are looking for in the problems before us.

Oftentimes our assumptions of things are so entrenched that it never crosses our minds to challenge them. These assumptions are apparently so established that we no longer question their validity, even though time has passed and things have changed. We are so used to them that we simply accept them as they are.

But many of our life‚s problems are tainted with false assumptions and they prevent us from thinking something new and different. They stifle our creativity and the result is the more or less the same set of tried solutions. No new and novel possibilities.

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Taking Risks
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Taking risks is part and parcel of being a creative thinker.

If you’re not willing to take risks (and these can include calculated risks) and experience failure, then you cannot expect to be a great creative thinker. No one truly succeeds without failing first. And no one truly becomes a creative genius without having to “risk his ideas.”

However, if you really want to experience major leaps in your creativity, then you’ll have to learn to take risks. You’ll fail but failure is good: it accelerates the learning process by generating new information and science has shown that our brain literally rewires itself each time we make a mistake. Our brain learns through a series of trials and errors.

Looking At Problems From A New Perspective
No new ideas will evolve from old perspectives. To create a new product, you must be able to visualize that new product. But you cannot do this if you keep looking at your problem from the same perspective.

You got to look at your problems from a new perspective in order to gain new insights. By changing your perspective and shifting to a new one, you will be able to expand your mental horizon and capture something you were previously unable to see. Only by seeing something new, will you be able to think up new ideas and create something new.

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Thinking Ambiguously
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The ability to think ambiguously is a great boon to yielding creative insights.

This same ability is being exhibited every time someone indulges in wordplay or humor.

People who can think ambiguously are known to be fluid and flexible thinkers. A tinge of ambiguous thinking during the idea generation stage of the creative process has the power to bring out a genius of an idea!

However, the main problem in our society is that people generally prefer things that are clear and unambiguous. They don’t like to associate themselves with things that are vague and have more than one meaning. As a result, we become rather rigid in the way we think, preferring to be involved in only things that have clear and specific parameters. The outcome: predictability.

Patrick C. is a creativity trainer, a bestselling author, and a full-time puzzler. His unorthodox creative thinking techniques, visual icebreakers, brain teasers & learning systems have since intrigued hundreds of audiences and they are available at http://www.wordjuxtapoz.com Article Source : http://www.article-content-king.com

Creativity and the Jack of All Trades
Angie Dixon

You may be familiar with the saying, “Jack of all trades and master of none.”

Well, I say, “Hooey.” That’s right. In fact, let me say it again. “Hooey.”

It is perfectly possible to be a multipassionate person and do several things well. Many, even. I’m a writer, a mother, a photographer, a friend, an entrepreneur. Sometimes not all at the same time, but I do them all, and do them all well.

But I think one reason many people can’t do many things well, or think other people can’t, is a lack of creativity.

It takes a lot of gumption to juggle two small kids, a deadline on an article, a pan of spaghetti, and a friend who wants to talk about a problem at work.

It takes even more gumption, and creativity, to juggle five projects, and those same two kids and that same friend.

Sometimes the creativity is required to figure out how you can manage one thing later. “Jack, I know you want to show your new game to me right now, but actually, I’ve been asleep for about an hour. Could we do it in the morning?”

Sometimes the creativity is figuring out how to handle two projects at once. “Hmmm. If I write an article on creativity AND writing, I could use it in my writing ezine AND my creativity ezine.

Sometimes the creativity is in finding a sensitive way to say, “I can’t right now.” “Samantha, I know you want to play badminton. I have an abscessed tooth and can’t move my head. How about Old Maid on the bed instead?”

And sometimes the creativity is just in remembering that these are people, things and situations you love and want to enjoy, and then going and enjoying them.

Angie Dixon is a writer and webmaster of The Leonardo Trait. Get a free report on failing successfully and sign up for free teleseminars at http://www.leonardotrait.com. Article Source : http://www.article-content-king.com

Being the Rose, an exercise in creativity
Emily Hanlon

Being the Rose Fall into the beauty of a rose and know yourself. If you cannot love yourself you will not be the rose.

Emily Hanlon is a novelist of seven works of fiction and a book on the creative writing process. She has been a writing and creativity coach for over 25 years. Her website, www.creativesoulworks.com, is based on her belief that the multifaceted journey of creativity is not limited to the arts, but nurtures life at the most profound depths, those of the soul journey. Her website, www.thefictionwritersjourney.com explores writing through her dual pronged method of teaching technique while unleashing the imagination. Article Source : http://www.article-content-king.com

Creativity Process Demystified
Patrick C.

No matter what you have been hearing what others have been telling you, the creatvity process is not a process so complex, that common folks like you and I cannot understand it.

Neither is the creative process a highly mysterious one which is practiced only by those who are blessed with natural creative talents. You can understand and even experience, perhaps for the first time, the practical steps of creativity that great thinkers use to come up with great ideas.

Simply put, the whole creative thinking process can be distilled down to five stages or phases of creativity.Phase 1: Problem Identification/Definition

The primary impetus of creativity is the realization of a problem.

That there’s a problem at hand and you need a creative solution to it. This stage of the creative problem solving process is called the Problem Identification or Definition phase. It’s when you size up the problem before and attempt to define it by establishing its parameters.

Here you immerse yourself in the problem, searching out any information that might be relevant. You let your imagination roam free, open yourself to anything that is even vaguely relevant to the problem.

The idea is to gather a broad range of data so that unusual and unlikely elements can begin to juxtapose themselves. Being receptive, being able to listen openly and well, is a crucial skill here.Phase 2: Idea Generation

Here, you generate a large number of ideas.

This stage of the creative thinking process should be freeing and characterized by inspiration, spontaneity, experimentation, intuition and without fear.

It is at this stage that you want to be careful about not judging the validity or feasibility of your ideas. Let your ideas flow and suspend judgment or self-censorship for the moment.

Great thinkers have discovered that they can only achieve their full creative potential by learning how to separate idea generation from idea evaluation. They know how to generate as many ideas as possible way before analyzing them.Phase 3: Incubation

This is the “sleeping on the problem” stage.

Once you have mulled over all the relevant information, you leave the problem to simmer. At this Incubation stage, you chew on all the data you have collated and wait almost passively.

You will have to trust your subconscious mind to do all the work. You literally let your mind “sleep on the problem.”Phase 4: Illumination

This is probably the most exciting phase.

It’s that part of the creativity process that seemingly makes all the effort and work worthwhile.

In this Illumination phase, you’ll experience the sudden bubbling up of the answer. The creative solution or solutions seem to come to you out of the blue.

The Illumination stage is generally described as the “Eureka!” moment.Phase 5: Verification

This is the final stage of the dynamic creativity process.
Called the Verification stage, here you look back over the other phases and evaluate your progress.

Patrick C. is a creativity trainer & bestselling author.His unorthodox creative thinking techniques, icebreakers, brainteasers & learning systems at http://www.wordjuxtapoz.com intrigued hundreds of audiences. Article Source : http://www.article-content-king.com

Adventures In Creative Thinking
Louis Bonaventura

How many times have you caught yourself saying that there could be no other solution to a problem – and that problem leads to a dead end? How many times have you felt stumped knowing that the problem lying before you is one you cannot solve. No leads. No options. No solutions.

Did it feel like you had exhausted all possible options and yet are still before the mountain – large, unconquerable, and impregnable? When encountering such enormous problems, you may feel like you’re hammering against a steel mountain. The pressure of having to solve such a problem may be overwhelming.

But rejoice! There might be some hope yet!

With some creative problem-solving techniques you may be able to look at your problem in a different light. And that light might just be at the end of the tunnel that leads to possible solutions.

First of all, in the light of creative problem-solving, you must be open-minded to the fact that there may be more than just one solution to the problem. And, you must be open to the fact that there may be solutions to problems you thought were unsolvable.

Now, with this optimistic mindset, we can try to be a little bit more creative in solving our problems.

Number one: maybe the reason we cannot solve our problems is that we have not really taken a hard look at what the problem is. Trying to understanding the problem and having a concrete understanding of its workings is integral in solving the problem. If you know how it works and what, exactly, the problem is, you will then have a better foundation to work on solving the problem.

Try to identify the participating entities within the problem and what their relationships are with one another. Take note of the things you stand to gain and stand to lose from the current problem. Once you do that, you will have a simple statement of what the problem is.

Number two: try to take note of all of the constraints and assumptions you have included in the scope of the problem. Sometimes it is these assumptions that obstruct our view of possible solutions. You have to identify which assumptions are valid, in which assumptions need to be addressed.

Number three: try to solve the problem in parts. Solve it going from a general view and move towards the more detailed parts of the problem. This is called the top-down approach. Write down the problem, and then break it down into manageable sections. Once you do that, come up with a one-sentence solution to each smaller portion. The solution should be a general statement of what will solve that particular portion of the problem. From here you can develop the solution further, and increase its complexity little by little.

Number four: although it helps to have critical thinking onboard as you solve a problem, you must also keep a creative, analytical voice at the back of your head. When someone comes up with a prospective solution, try to think how you could make that solution work. Try to be creative and remain open-minded tot he suggestions. At the same time, look for chinks in the armor of that solution.

Number five: it pays to remember that there may be more than just one solution being developed at one time. Try to keep track of all the solutions and their developments. There may be more than just one solution to the problem. If this is the case then you will need to eventually decide which solution is the best one.

Number six: remember the old adage “two heads are better than one.” This is truer than it sounds. Always be open to new ideas. You can only benefit from listening to all the ideas each person has. This is especially true when the person you’re talking to has had experience solving similar problems.

Organizing collective thought on the problem subject is much better than trying to figure it out on your own. Get yourself a “Mastermind Group” to assist you in resolving the problem satisfactorily.

Number seven: be patient. As long as you persevere and stay focused, there is always a chance that a solution will present itself. Remember that no one ever created an invention successfully the first time around.

Creative thinking exercises will also help you in your quest be a more creative problems solver. Here is one example:

Take a piece of paper and write any word that comes to mind at the center of the paper. Now look at that word, and then write the very next two words that come to your mind. This can go on until you can build a tree of related words. This helps you build logical thinking skills and fortifies your creative processes.

So, next time you see a problem you think you can’t solve, don’t panic. Panicking never solved anything and in most cases it will make the problem even worse! The solution might just be staring you right in the face. All it takes is just a little creative thinking, some planning, and a whole lot of perseverance.

About The Author: Lou and Robin Bonaventura have been Professional Network Marketers for the past 4 years. They attribute much of their success to personal development and consistent learning. Visit their Blog and their Learning Centers for more insight into how personal development can benefit you. Article Source : http://www.article-content-king.com